Under Defeat HD review – Dreamcast shooter

We’ve only ever had the chance to review two Dreamcast games in our career, one was recent fan project Gun Lord and the other was Under Defeat – at the time hailed as the final official game for Sega’s last console. We never thought to see it again to be honest, and still jealously guard our original import copy, but this new HD edition proves it has value beyond the merely historical.

In actual fact Under Defeat wasn’t the last Dreamcast game, official or otherwise, but its release in 2006 came close enough. The game’s a vertically scrolling 2D shooter and like most such games started life as a coin-op in Japan. The game was created by tiny Japanese studio G.rev, who employs many ex-Taito staff that worked on fellow 2D shooters such as Darius and RayStorm.

Under Defeat though is clearly (or at least clearly to fans of the genre, of which we admit we are fully paid-up members) influenced by Toaplan games such as Twin Cobra, as well as Zero Gunner 2 from Psikyo – which was also ported to the Dreamcast. As such you control a modern day military helicopter and enemies are fairly realistic too, for a 2D shoot ‘em-up.

The use of a helicopter isn’t just because it looks cool, since the game allows you to pivot it left and right by about 45 degrees. You’re forced to constantly alter your angle of attack, not just to hit enemies but to avoid huge plumes of otherwise unavoidable bullets.

Also in your arsenal is a Gradius style ‘option’ – a little drone that fires a variety of different weapons depending on which power-ups you collect. The option only lasts for 30 seconds but can be brought back whenever you want as long as you stop firing and let a short power meter recharge. Naturally, holding fire for even a few seconds is horribly dangerous, which adds a great tactical edge.

This all amounts to a more grounded kind of 2D shooter, that doesn’t rely on arcane scoring systems or abstract rules for its gimmicks. Interestingly G.rev has ensured this tone is reflected in the art style, which uses an unusually drab colour scheme for this sort of game – although it never looks quite a dour in action as some of the screenshots might suggest.

On a technical level Under Defeat was never ground-breaking but this HD version retains the same great attention to detail, as trees quake at nearby blasts and plumes of smoke float off screen from destroyed enemies. As well as upping the resolution this new version improves the particle effects considerably, although really the graphics were never an important part of the appeal.

There’s also a new dual stick control option, where you can control the direction of fire with the right analogue stick, in the manner of Geometry Wars et al. You also get online leaderboards and Trophies for the PlayStation 3 version, although there’s no online co-op.

The biggest change in this HD version though is that there’s now a redesigned ‘New Order’ mode which fills the entirety of a widescreen television. Because of its arcade originals the original used a much narrower screen and so flattening it out actually changes the gameplay quite significantly, especially because of the tilting mechanic.

To be honest we prefer the more focused original version, but that’s included on the disc as well so there’s no need to complain if you don’t like the new one. Although the game is advertised as a Deluxe Edition, like Rising Star Games’ other 2D shooter releases there is no other version and so everyone gets an extra disc with the soundtrack and a digital artbook.

We’re surprised to find there are enough 2D shooter fans in Europe to keep justifying these retail releases – which you would’ve thought would be lucky to find an audience even on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. But they keep coming, so we assume the fans must be out there.

Under Defeat isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about 2D shooters, although the relatively conventional setting may draw in a few new players put off by the genre’s usual spaceships and monsters. It’s not the best of its breed we will admit, but it’s definitely up there and perfect for people that prefer their shooters purely two-dimensional.

In Short: It may seem a strange game to resurrect, but this clever little 2D shooter deserves to be remembered for more than just the console it helped to bookend.

Pros: Some interesting gameplay features that add depth while remaining accessible to all. Nicely updated graphics and some obvious tender loving care in the packaging.

Cons: Unashamedly derivative and not very long. Music, sound effects and presentation are all still fairly underwhelming.